They pay because they refurbish them. In essence, you are selling your right to data security. Their idea of data security is wiping a drive in order to put a new operating system on it and reselling it. The problem with this is that you would never know if they handled your drive properly before they resell it. I have heard all types of stories about companies not wiping or destroying hard drives as they promise, it’s scary! Our hard drive shredding services offer a tangible means of drive destruction. Once your drive is shredded, you can hold it in your hands and feel confident your data will never be recovered. We also take the items most other companies don’t want like printers, monitors, keyboards and mice, and electronics gadgets at no charge.
They generally do not pay for old gear, in fact, most of them will charge you for old electronics that have no refurbish value. They may even hit you with a fee for pick up. Some companies like to come out a cherry pick the items they want and leave you with the less desirable items. You may also be paying to support gimmicky certifications or business models. Companies that charge for items are inherently less responsible in their recycling process because once you pay for them to dispose of your material, they no longer have the incentive to find recycling value in it. These types of business are not an electronics recycling business.